Hidden Denial
by ProjectVORTEX
Summary: Four years since the "Hundred-Year War" and the world is beginning to be rebuilt and lives restored to normal. But evil lurks out of sight in the shadows, and a familiar enemy will soon surface in an effort to undo what has been done.
1. Prologue

Author's Preface:

No, this is not an April Fool, I really am starting to work on a new fic within the Avatar universe. It has some similarities to Lost Roads, which I hope to resume in the near future.

So, first and foremost, an apology to those who have been waiting for the next chapter of Lost Roads: I was hopeful to get the project done before the final episodes of Avatar had aired but this was not to be. It has taken me a long time, and a lot of work, to get myself back to the point where I can write again. A lot of things have happened in the interval between then and now – work-related things, heartbreak, loss of inspiration, loss of a computer, other things.

But, hopefully, I've come back with this. It's a teaser of a prologue, but I promise there is a lot more where this came from. I've spent a lot of time outlining this story and I think you'll find it to be engaging, twisting, turning, and filled with all sorts of wonderful drama.

**Prologue**

Four years have passed since the "Hundred-Year War" ended as suddenly as it began. Many changes have taken place around a world once ravaged by war.

Avatar Aang, after successfully bringing the war to an end, has embarked on a quest to find out if any Air Nomads do survive after so long a time. Spurred on by rumors and stories, he seeks to restore balance to the world through the resurrection of the Air Nomad culture. His travels have taken him across many parts of the world, but few have heard from him since he departed on Appa to begin his latest quest.

Fire Lord Zuko rules the Fire Nation with a firm but just hand. Unlike his father and his grandfather, Zuko has embraced the ways of peace. His policies have helped the Earth Kingdom cities and towns rebuild and have brought hope to the parts of the world that his forefathers ravaged. Many in the Fire Nation are pleased and relieved that they are able to help, but there are still whispers and rumbles of discontent to be heard, if you know where to listen.

With the cessation of hostilities, the Water Tribes have come together. Communities that were once divided and apart by cultural boundaries once more realize the values of friendship and family. They have sent a representative to be the ambassador to the Fire Nation – Katara of the South Pole. Katara's role is to work with the Fire Nation to aid in the rebuilding of the Water Tribes. She has seen little of her family since accepting the role, but is still very stubborn and passionate – traits that suit her perfectly.

Her brother, Sokka, has spent much of his time traveling in the Earth Kingdom with Suki and Toph. The end of hostilities made it difficult for him to settle down once more, so he spends his time helping wherever there is need for it and, otherwise, enjoying a fairly carefree life not unlike that of a vagabond. He keeps in regular contact with his sister, letting her know how he is getting along.

Toph has grown and matured beyond her years. She retains much of the trickster mentality that she had in her youth but she has also found a stable rock in her companions. Back in her native country the Earthbending master has been particularly helpful in reconstructing – even going so far as to Earthbend an entire village from scratch in two days. Puberty has brought on new challenges for her, but she remains determined and stubborn in the face of these new challenges.

Leaving the Kiyoshi Warriors in good hands, Suki has spent her time traveling with Sokka and Toph. She and Toph have come to a much better understanding between each other, but Suki's feelings are primarily for Sokka and for Sokka alone. Her time spent with him has brought her much closer to him – close enough that she cannot see anyone but him in her future at this point. On their travels she acts as the voice of logic and reason – though never for long – and keeps Sokka from doing anything too stupid – a task which is nearly impossible sometimes.

Mai occupies a central position beside Fire Lord Zuko. Though she has not been officially named as his consort, most within the Fire Nation expect the Fire Lord to name her his consort before the year is out. The four years has lightened her mood significantly though she still has a morose moment or two – they are very few and far between. Although the Kiyoshi Warriors act as official guardians to the Fire Lord, even they recognize that Mai is his unofficial protector and they respect her for that.

Finally finding acceptance with the Kiyoshi Warriors, Ty Lee has a family at long last that she can call her own. The former acrobat spends a great deal of her time with Mai and Zuko, who she sees as a brother she never had. Time has brought beauty to her as well several inches, but neither has dulled her skill or celerity. Several of the Kiyoshi Warriors have also taken to learning from her – which has made them a far more potent force than ever.

Calling Ba Sing Se his new home of sorts, Iroh has settled down in his new tea shop, which he runs with pride and joy. Frequent visitors to it include Sokka, Toph and Suki, Katara (when she is traveling), Fire Lord Zuko, and even Aang has been spotted there once or twice. The members of the White Lotus also frequent the place to play Iroh in Pai Sho and discuss philosophy. Iroh has no desire to remain a part of politics, choosing instead to devote all his energies to his tea shop. He does offer help and opinions to Zuko when the Fire Lord seeks them, but Iroh is largely retired.

Princess Azula remains safely enshrined at the Caldara Mental Facility, which resides on one of the many volcanic islands that makes up the Fire Nation. She is monitored constantly, and very few people come to visit her. Under the care of the doctors at Caldara she has regained much of her sanity and self-esteem although it is not likely that she will see release from the facility for a long time to come. The doctors all speak highly of her recovery and the seeming change that has taken place with her, but some are wary of what might be lurking behind her golden eyes.


	2. Chapter One

_You used to light up the dark  
With your unrelenting spark  
You always put a fire in me.  
_Armin van Buuren feat. Jaren – "Unforgivable"

_Fire Nation Capital City_

Sunset in the Fire Nation capitol was a sight to behold and Fire Lord Zuko had never grown tired of the sight of it from the Imperial Palace. As a child he had spent countless evenings watching the rays of the setting sun as it sank slowly behind the mountains that framed the city. For a few moments the sky would glow as a mix of red and orange rays illuminated the mountains, giving the appearance that they were ablaze. Looking east, the long shadows the Imperial Palace cast over the rest of the city were magnificent – a reminder, Zuko suspected, to the people of the very authority centered in this one place.

Ever since his return, Zuko had not had many moments to enjoy the panorama before him. Since the war had ended some years ago he had spent the bulk of his time in meetings and discussions with various dignitaries, trying to set the world aright once more. Ambassadors from all parts of the world had come to call on him, bringing with them a never-ending litany of requests and pleas for the Fire Nation to help them rebuild what it had previously destroyed. In addition he had tried to balance the needs of his own people as well, rebuilding cities that had been destroyed in the fighting and removing the remaining vestiges of his father's rule.

Amazingly, Zuko had finished his day early and had found a few moments to take the time and enjoy some quiet time. Normally Mai would be with him, but her family had insisted that she take a few days and go to visit relatives living on one of the outlying islands. It was rare for Mai to leave his side – she was as much a fixture of the palace as the Kiyoshi Warriors who kept guard over him – but when family spoke it was difficult to simply say no regardless of the reason. Zuko had found it lonelier around the palace without his consort-to-be, but his daily routine had kept him so busy that he had not had much time to dwell on it. But now that he had the time, he found his thoughts fixed on her.

So lost in his thoughts was the Fire Lord that he almost failed to hear the sounds of soft footsteps on stone behind him. A touch of movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention and he turned from the magnificent view, expecting it was one of the Councilors coming to speak with him over some piece of legislation or even one of the Kiyoshi Warriors delivering a message. His eyebrows rose in surprise as the figure emerged from the doorway, the rays of the setting sun casting a glow across her tanned face. "Ambassador Katara, forgive me – I did not see you standing there until just now and I was…"

Katara raised a hand, cutting him off mid-sentence. The smile on her face was genuine and her eyes twinkled in the sunset. "No apology is needed, Fire Lord Zuko. And please – just call me Katara. You don't need to be so formal when we're in private. I'm just here to enjoy the view and spend a few moments with an old friend."

A smile tugged at the corner of Zuko's face and he chuckled to hide the embarrassment he felt. "I'm sorry, Katara. You don't need to call me Fire Lord in private either. It sounds silly coming from you after all we went through."

The melodic laughter was enough to elicit a full smile from Zuko. Katara shook her head. "I'm still trying to get used to the title myself. I'm not used to being addressed so formally." As she stepped more fully into the light Zuko could see that she was dressed in her standard waterbender garb – not the more formal skirt and tunic that she wore when appearing in public. This was the clear backing behind her statement, for Katara never wore her waterbender garb unless she was "off duty", so to speak.

The transition from war to peace had taken some time for Zuko – and everyone else – to get used to. Although he had plenty of experience in etiquette from his time at the palace, most of the others (save Toph) had only the experiences of their time at Ba Sing Se before its downfall to draw upon for etiquette. Fortunately for him, Mai had gladly taken Katara under her wing to teach her some of the ways of etiquette and protocol. It had become even more imperative for her to learn when the combined Water Tribes had formally asked her to be their ambassador to the Fire Nation. Given how important the request had been, Katara had taken to her studies of the finer arts of courtly life with the same zeal and zest she put towards the study of waterbending.

Her transformation had surprised even Zuko. While he had a great amount of respect for Katara, he had never fully expected that someone of her background could take so quickly to the intricacies of court life. Within a few months, Katara's dress and manner had begun to shift. She had taken to wearing skirts and blouses (all with the same blue hues from her waterbending background). Gone was the waterbending garb she had worn during the War – but Zuko had seen it from time to time when she was not performing her duties.

Mannerisms had shifted as greatly as her clothing had changed also. As she spent more time among the noble class, her speaking became more eloquent, more formalized. There were still moments of awkwardness, but her habit of speaking her mind was less pronounced and more reserved. Despite all these transformations, Katara's strong will remained unchanged, just as her hair also remained unchanged. Her hair was the one thing she had refused to change, keeping it between shoulder and waist-length, her hair loop beads letting the two bangs curl down on either side of her tanned face.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Zuko had to admit that, as used to hearing the title as he was, it had been a relief to just hear his name when he had worked with the rest of the group. "For the first year when I heard the title I had to resist the urge to look over my shoulder and see if my father had somehow escaped from his cell."

Katara chuckled. "I can see why you would think that. It's been awhile now, so I'm getting more used to it, but some days I hear it and it feels so odd." She approached the railing where Zuko stood and admired what was left of the sunset. Down below, in the city, the street lanterns were starting to flicker to life as the firebenders tasked to lighting them went about their work.

A cool breeze tugged lightly at his robes as he turned to look out over the city with her. Moments like this with Katara had been nearly non-existent since the war had come to an end. A good part of her time was spent traveling between the poles and the capital city, consulting with her people on various matters before bringing them back for discussion and action. For his part, most of his time was spent meeting with dignitaries, councellors, and citizens. The remaining time was spent with Mai. Unfortunately, Katara's path rarely crossed with his own, which truly disappointed him because he honestly and genuinely missed her company.

"So how is everyone else? I'm afraid I haven't heard from many of them in quite some time. The last I heard, Aang was travelling to the southeast and Sokka, Toph, and Suki were all traveling through what was left of the Wulong Forest."

Aang's name brought a momentary frown to Katara's face, but it was gone before Zuko could really get a good look at it. "That's about what I've heard. I haven't gotten a letter from Aang in a few months, though his last one sounded very optimistic about finding other Air Nomads in the mountains there. As for Sokka and the girls – your guess is as good as mine. Sokka doesn't usually remember to write, and while I'm sure that Suki tries to get him to write us more often, he manages to forget somehow. This is Sokka we're talking about, after all."

Something in the way she mentioned Aang was cause for concern for Zuko but he did not reveal it. Aang was a subject that was sometimes touchy for Katara – he knew that the two had been very close right after the war had ended, but when she had taken the position of Ambassador it had been influenced, in part, by Aang's decision to search for any other Air Nomads. Something about more years of travel had not rested well with Katara, Zuko suspected. "I see. Oh, Uncle sends his regards. He said that his tea shop is doing very well. Of course, that's the condensed version – his letters are usually very long and windy and cover _everything_ that happens there down to what he's wearing on a given day."

"I can imagine. But I think he misses you, Zuko. You're like a son to him and he wants you to know that he's doing well." Katara's insights were pretty well honed when it came to family. She had been part of a functional family which was more than he could say for himself. Resting her elbows on the railing, Katara stared off into the city with a wistful look. "I miss him – but I'll be in Ba Sing Se in a couple months to meet with the Earth Kingdom king, so I'll stop in and visit him then. Speaking of your family, how is Mai doing?"

Despite himself, Zuko could not hide the wide smile at the name. Mai was one of the best things that had happened to his life and was one major source of his pride and joy. "She's off seeing relatives out on the rim. Her family was rather insistent that she come with them – it was the first time I've heard her not be able to tell them no in awhile. She's doing very wonderful though and she asks about you every now and again." Though it was more how Katara was fitting in and how she was doing in court.

"Ah," Katara sounded noncommittal. "Well, I'm glad you two are doing well, Zuko, and I'm happy for both of you. I just wish this job didn't keep me so busy – otherwise I'd come here more often. The sunsets here are very lovely." She smiled again, though it seemed to be tinged with a touch of sadness this time.

Zuko was at a loss for what to say for a long moment. Finally, he decided on the best – and safest - statement. "You're welcome here anytime you want. Please don't be a stranger, Katara – I miss my friend."

She'd just turned to look at him, ready to say something in response, when a figure dropped from the roof and landed on the ground behind them. Whirling, both Katara and Zuko went into defensive postures, prepared to deal with the unknown assailant. It only took a moment for Zuko to recognize who it was – Ty Lee.

Three years had done a lot to the girl. She had put on almost a half-foot in height and the top of her head came just below Zuko's line of sight. Her speed and agility had not decreased with age either. If age had reduced her flexibility it would have been impossible to detect as well – she could still twist and move in ways that defied physics and anatomy.

"Ty Lee, how many times have I told you not to do that?" Zuko asked, releasing the breath he had been holding and lowering his arms. Glancing beside him he could see the shimmering haze of water in the air subside as Katara also slowly relaxed her own posture. It was good to see she had kept up on her training, Zuko thought to himself approvingly.

The girl bowed in apology. "I'm sorry Fire Lord Zuko, I will try not to do it again." Then, just as quickly, she raised her head, a wide smile crossing her features. "But, I thought that you and Katara would want to hear the news!"

"News?" Katara spoke up. "What news?"

The Kiyoshi Warrior was bouncing on the balls of her feet excitedly, almost hyperactively. That part of Ty Lee had not changed a bit. "Sokka's returned! He just arrived at the front gate with Toph and Suki a few minutes ago!"

Katara's mouth was open but she quickly closed it and a smile crossed her face as she turned to Zuko. "Wow, that was good timing – we were just talking about them! C'mon, Zuko, let's go meet him!"

Nodding his agreement, Zuko was also quite pleased. Sokka was like a kindred spirit to him – they were similar in a lot of ways. It was too bad they had been enemies before, but over time they had become pretty decent friends. He started to turn to follow her, then remembered that Ty Lee was still standing there. "Thank you, Ty Lee," he said, "I'm sorry for yelling at you. Go ahead and have Sokka and the girls meet us in the private entertainment room. Oh," he followed up as he remembered something else, "And have the cooks get some food ready – lots of it. He's probably going to be hungry."

Without a moment's hesitation the bodyguard nodded, then leapt into the air, the direction she had just come from. She was thrilled that Sokka had returned – not just because Suki was back which meant that the other Kiyoshi Warriors would have a chance to spend time with their leader – but because it meant that she could show Sokka the new moves she had been practicing. Giggling to herself, she hurried off to follow Zuko's orders and pass on instructions to everyone else.

* * *

_Caldera Mental Rehabilitation Facility_

If you had asked Princess Azula five years ago where she expected to be, the answer "inside a mental health ward" would not have likely been anywhere close to the answers that she would have given. "Ruling the Fire Nation" would have been a likely answer, as would have been "sitting at her father's side waiting for the day when she would rule the world." Yet here she was now, located inside one of the Fire Nation's finest facilities, trapped both in body and in mind. It was, in her mind, one of the worse hells she could have been thrown into.

To make matters worse, her brother had exceeded every expectation she had set for him when he had placed her here. Unlike their father, who was locked up for his crimes for the rest of his natural life out of the public eye, Azula was actually in a place that was accessible and open to anyone who wanted to visit her. Very few had done so – most had been family friends who were very covert in their visits lest they be recognized and discovered (it was apparently not very fashionable these days to visit a fallen Princess who had been declared mentally insane). For her brother to have been as daring and cruel as to have done this had made her realize that she had underestimated him.

Zuko was not the only one that Azula had underestimated. There had also been Ty Lee and Mai, her supposed "best friends" who had turned against her when she had needed their help the most. Mai's betrayal had been somewhat expected, especially since Azula had suspected how deep the brooding, angst-filled teenager's feelings ran for her brother, but it had been Ty Lee's traitorous actions against her that had thrown her off balance so greatly. In the past Ty Lee had always been pliable and moldable, a perfect tool with which to do whatever needed to be done. But the tool had turned on its crafter, leaving Azula with one of the greatest shocks of her short life so far.

However, to say that the mental condition that had brought her to this facility was solely attributed to the betrayal of her friends would have also been incorrect. It had taken some time for her to begin to piece together the shattered mirror of her life, but with the help of the doctors at the facility Azula had started to realize that this had been a fall she was heading towards for quite some time. The betrayal of her by her friends had been the icing on the cake, sending her into the downwards spiral that had resulted in such an ugly confrontation when she had dueled her brother. Only her pride, which she was starting to restore, would prevent her from acknowledging to the oath-bound doctors that she had erred. To admit to a mistake was to admit to weakness, and even now Azula refused to do that.

As Azula began to recover her own sanity she had also started to recover her analytical skills and had started to work on getting herself out of the institute. It was not going to be easy – as long as her brother was the Fire Lord it would effectively limit her here – but she had started to take steps in the right direction. The passage of time had helped her reconcile herself with some of her… less pleasant actions and had opened her eyes a bit more to the world around her. Since then she had worked harder to become less feared by the doctors and patients, and felt that she had made good progress. Her last evaluation report had even indicated favorable progress by the staff.

The next step she had taken was a careful evaluation of her situation. She still had her bending, though the Caldera doctors administered a serum everyday that kept it neutralized. The serum had been developed in the Earth Kingdom and had arrived not long after Zuko's coronation, negating the need for padded cells and strait jackets. Every day she practiced the forms she had learned when she was younger, with the hopes of someday being able to use her bending ability again.

She was far more fortunate than her father. She had heard what the Avatar had done to him, the final hours of the war that had brought the great empire of the Fire Nation to a grinding halt and had installed her idiot brother on the throne while leaving her here to rot. In her opinion the Avatar had not done enough to simply leave him alive but unable to bend. It would have been a far better punishment to have killed him slowly and painfully, letting his consciousness linger long enough to get a sufficient taste of pain and agony to take with him to the underworld. No, instead he was now a broken man left to rot out the rest of his godforsaken years in a prison.

Regret was not something that Azula felt towards her father. It was sickening in a way to realize that she had something in common with both Aang and Zuko, if only a hatred of former Fire Lord Ozai. For Azula, her father had committed the worst crime possible – he had betrayed her trust and love, turning his back on her to further his own glory. For Azula, whose loyalty to her father and love for her father had been unquestioning, it had been a dagger through the heart.

Azula paused, forcing herself out of the rut that those thoughts would lead down. If she kept thinking about her father she would only grow angry again, and it was not worth it to her to become upset over what her father had done in the past. One of the more valuable things she had learned from her sessions with the doctors was that it was wrong to submit to the judgment of others – her self-esteem and self-worth had to come from within.

Taking a deep breath, she focused instead on other things – her former "friends", and then let the breath out. She did miss Mai and Ty Lee. Even though they had taken actions against her they had still been good to have around. They could listen and offer advice, even if it wasn't always practical, and above all else they had skills that had complimented Azula. Mai, though morose in her thinking, often was realistic and was pointed as the daggers and throwing knives she carried. And Ty Lee, though naïve and innocent in many of the ways of the world, could be refreshing in her own way. Of course, there were also her talents with gymnastics and pressure points to consider.

It had taken some time for her to realize just why the two of them had turned on her. Ty Lee had been almost immediate to figure out – the girl was innocent and easily swayed. She had not wanted to see fighting between her friends but when Mai had lashed out she had seen that the only way to keep anyone from getting hurt was to take action herself. Unfortunately, it had been Mai who had been able to influence her in that crucial moment, which meant that Azula had become the target of Ty Lee's attacks.

Mai had taken longer to figure out. She had known that the two of them had been very interested in each other, but since Azula didn't ascribe to romance or romantic notions it had taken longer for her to realize that Mai's betrayal was simply out of a change in loyalty. Azula had always seen Mai as a distraction for Zuko, a plaything to keep him occupied while she had carried out her plans, but in retrospect she realized now that the two of them had become a true couple. As a result Mai had effectively pledged her loyalty to Zuko instead of to Azula and had reacted accordingly when Azula had shown up to take care of her older brother and his newfound friends.

Knowing what she knew now had enabled her to begin to plan out what she would do if she ever got out of here. But for all the plans she could make they remained just that – plans with no way of being carried out. She had very few visitors – her brother visited once a year and some family friends came to see her every now and again and there had been that biographer who was writing the story of her short life so far – but none of her visitors were the kind of people she could trust to carry things out and act as her proxy in the world.

Sighing, she looked at herself in the mirror, straightening out her hair. She wore it in a simple ponytail now that it had grown back after her aborted attempt at becoming a hairstyler. The reason she had bothered to think about all this was because she had learned that a new doctor had just arrived from the Earth Kingdom and would be taking over her treatment. Apparently he had some sort of specialized research in psychological disorders and wanted to see if he could "make her a functional member of society" once more. She had to laugh at this – the only way she would ever be truly functional was if she was the Fire Lord. The rest was a waste of her talents.

The sound of knocking on her door made her pause. Most of the time the doctors just came into the room unannounced, as if they owned the place. They rarely resorted to pleasantries such as knocking. Immediately she suspected who it was on the other side of the door. A glance back to the mirror confirmed that she looked presentable.

"The door is open, you can come in," she called out as she took a seat at the small desk in her room.

The man who stepped into the room did not look like a typical doctor. Most doctors were somewhat portly and carried themselves around in a stately manner. But the person who stood before her looked like he was better suited to skulking in the shadows. His features were lean, hardened, and Azula recognized the telltale signs of someone skilled in combat – the way his eyes traveled the room and the way he held himself. There was also something familiar about him that she could not yet place…

"Princess Azula? I am Doctor Yin, the new specialist who will be working with you." He closed the door behind him and bowed politely to her, but remained standing.

"I'm sorry, but do I know you from somewhere? Your face seems familiar somehow," she remarked casually, ignoring his introduction completely. "I know that you are Earth Kingdom – you have that look to you – but I would swear we have met before somewhere."

A smirk crossed his face. With a stamp of his foot a stone stool appeared behind him and he sat down where he was. His gaze moved across her features appraisingly, as if verifying something in his mind, and then he nodded.

"As a matter of fact, we have, Princess Azula. You see… I am a member of the Dai Li… and I was sent here to help you…"


End file.
